[antimedia] antimedia: In Iran, a dichotomy....

[Email subscription to blog articles]

Posted by antimedia:
In Iran, a dichotomy....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1157429014.shtml


   ....that should [1]give you pause. An experience reporter traveled to
   Iran recently and was taken aback by the pro-American attitude of the
   people there.

     Steven Knipp, the D.C. correspondent for the South China Morning
     Post, wrote in today's washington Post of his recent trip to Iran.
     I stole the picture used to illustrate the piece:
     I also stole these insights:
     1. "What took place over the next fortnight astonished me. ... I
     was overwhelmed by the warmth and, dare I say it, pro-Americanism
     of the people I met."
     2. "Initially, when Iranians asked me where I was from, I'd suggest
     they guess. But this game quickly proved too time-consuming -- no
     one ever guessed correctly. So instead I would simply mumble
     "American." And then their faces would light up. For better or
     worse, Iranians are avid fans of America: its culture, films, food,
     music, its open, free-wheeling society."
     3. "During my visit, I could not pause on a street corner for more
     than 30 seconds without someone coming up and shyly asking if they
     could help. Discovering that they had an American in their midst,
     they would often insist on walking me to my destination."
     4. "Many people I spoke with did voice fears of what President Bush
     might do to Iran. Some were frightened of being attacked. But
     others were concerned about what effects U.S. economic sanctions
     would have on an economy that is already appallingly managed by
     mullahs. Yet I never sensed any personal hatred toward Bush."

   Surely there is some way we can leverage this knowledge to our
   advantage.
   Perhaps we could import some Iranians into the Democratic party......

References

   1. http://donsurber.blogspot.com/2006/09/they-like-bush-in-iran.html